April 30, 2009

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday (April 29) urged the people of his country to stay calm and continue eating pork amid the outbreak of deadly swine flu in other nations.

"Please don't be in chaos (about the swine flu), but please continue to eat pork as usual. The infection does not come by eating pork," Hun Sen said during a graduation ceremony in the capital Phnom Penh.

Hun Sen said Cambodia had taken appropriate protective measures, including the setting up of thermal scanners at airports to check arriving passengers for possible swine flu cases.

The premiere's speech warned people to be prepared for swine flu outbreaks in the kingdom, although the virus has not been reported in Cambodia.

Hun Sen also said he thought southeast Asian leaders and relevant officials ought to hold an urgent meeting if joint action was needed against the epidemic.

"This is a huge issue because the virus is spreading very fast, even faster than bird flu," he said, referring to the deadly H5N1 strain which has killed seven Cambodians since 2003.

News of the new deadly strain of swine flu erupted over the weekend, and more than 150 people are believed to have died from the virus in Mexico, where experts believe it emerged.

The flu virus has since swept across parts of the globe, with confirmed cases in the United States, Costa Rica, Europe, Israel, and New Zealand.